The present invention concerns improvements in or relating to compactors.
The use of compactors for reducing the volume of rubbish, garbage or trash is becoming widespread in domestic and commercial situations. Such compactors comprise a receptacle for rubbish into which there is arranged to descend a compacting plate which compresses the rubbish into a compact layer in the receptacle, the plate then being retracted to allow the admission of further rubbish.
As the compacting plate must exert a reasonable force on the rubbish the mechanism for moving the plate is relatively robust and, consequently, occupies a considerable space. Thus if the compactor has to fit in to a relatively small location, for example, beneath a counter or worktop, its free volume, that is the volume of the compactor not occupied by operating equipment and the rubbish receiving receptacle, in other words the volume of the machine available to accept rubbish to be compacted, is relatively small. This results in a reluctance to use the compactor as frequently as could be.
In an effort to overcome this disadvantage, in prior compactors the rubbish container has been moveably mounted so that it can slide out of the compactor away from the compacting plate to expose its open top for the reception of rubbish, the container thereafter being moved back into the compactor prior to operation of the compacting plate. This also gives rise to disadvantages. For example, in view of the forces experienced during a compacting operation, the apparatus enabling the container to be moved must be very robust otherwise it could be damaged.